Ginny's Boggart
by utahyoda
Summary: Ginny gets a scare at Grimmauld Place, and impresses Remus with her ability to handle it.  Remus Ginny friendship, with a bit of RLNT and HPGW.


He heard the tiny shriek somehow over the surrounding din. Excusing himself with a quick word to the twins, Remus headed for the kitchen door. Someone had probably tripped over Crookshanks, or been startled by Kreacher, but in Grimmauld place there was no harm in checking any odd noise.

There was no one in the basement hallway, nor near the front door. Now feeling a bit nosy, he continued up the stairs to the next set of rooms. There had been a few people missing from the gathering since dinner; Kingsley, Mad-Eye, Tonks, and Bill had all slipped out at some point. He remembered how Bill and Tonks had been laughing, heads together, before they left the kitchen. That tiny little growly voice that had recently taken residence in his head every time he though of Tonks suddenly became very loud. He hushed it, but decided not to investigate behind the closed door on his left. The last thing he wanted was to interrupt a private party.

Cackling laughter. It was coming from one of the rooms on the next floor, and it there was no flirtation in it. It was a terrible sound; cold, mocking. Taking the stairs two at a time, Remus leaped onto the landing and burst through the door at the top of it. Ginny Weasley was huddled against the wall, shaking and white. A further glance into the room revealed a teenage boy, quite good-looking, unconscious on the floor. Remus did not recognize him. As he stared, the image began to shimmer, to fade, and then dissolved, replaced by a bright, silvery disc.

"Riddukulus!" He shouted, grabbing his wand from his pocket and pointing it at the disc. It vanished.

Ginny peeked over her knees at him, still shaking uncontrollably. Remus sat next to her, digging through his pockets for some chocolate. Finding a bit, he handed it to her.

"D-d-don't t-t-tell mum," she said through shaking teeth. She worries enough without knowing I still think about him."

"Him?" Remus hoped he didn't sound over curious or pushy, but his stomach had gone cold. Why would Ginny's greatest fear be-

"Tom Riddle." Her voice was suddenly very calm, and very hard. "I came up here to meet Tonks, and when he came out of the wardrobe, I thought it was her playing a trick. Then I saw who it was..." Her voice wavered again.

Good heavens. What a fear for a fourteen year-old to have. Yet, Remus wondered if it wasn't good that Ginny expressed her fear this way. He had taught her the year after her experience with the diary and had been surprised, even concerned, at how little lasting effect it seemed to have on her. Far from collapsing into a frightened shell, she had turned into a rather independent young woman. And feisty.

"Ginny, how did the boggart--Riddle--come to be on the ground?"

"He told me that he was going to posses me again, and use me to kill Harry."

"And?"

"And so I hexed him. And used the full-body bind."

"You hexed Lord Voldemort."

She nodded, looking a little more like her usual self.

He looked at her again, impressed. Not living in a frightened shell, indeed. "I think you may be one of the only people in the world who can claim that."

"But he almost got back up again. When you came in the room, he was moving. I thought he was going to come after me."

"Ginny," he said firmly, "It was a boggart. I am very impressed that you handled it as well as you did."

"Thanks, professor. Only-"

There was a loud noise from the hall and the door opened. "Sorry, Ginny, I had to talk to Kingsley before he left and..." Tonks stopped abruptly as she saw them, and Ginny's tear streaked face. "Ginny?"

Remus stood. "Just a little trouble with a boggart. I'll leave you to whatever you have planned this evening." He was nearly out the door when he turned back. "Were you going to say something else, Ginny?"

She smiled, suddenly looking very much like her twin brothers. "I wish I'd used the bat-bogey hex on him. I would have like to see that."

Chucking, Remus left the room. Tonks followed him into the hall, holding the door nearly shut. "Will she be all right?" She asked.

"Amazingly enough, I think she will. I'll send some hot chocolate up, shall I?"

"That would be perfect. We have a night of girl stuff planned. I'll keep her mind off things for a while," Tonks said, patting a large bag at her side. Remus could not fathom what was in it.

"I really don't think we need to mention this to any of the others. She handled the situation remarkably well."

Suddenly, Tonks took his hand. "I bet you were a fantastic teacher," she said, and smiled. Before he could respond, she had gone back into the room. A little baffled, Remus spun on a heel and headed down the stairs.

Ten minutes later, he approached the door. Behind it, he could hear giggling. He knocked.

"Who is it?"

"Remus."

There was a fresh batch of laughter. He sighed and put down the tray, not really wanting to know. At least Ginny was feeling better.

Disclaimer: I bow to the genius of JK Rowling, and hope to someday own characters as good as hers. Alas, that day is not today.


End file.
